Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Best Beast Claws Build (2024)

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree has provided players with plenty more gear to try out, which is already leading to some very interesting - and powerful - builds to obliterate bosses with. This Beast Claws build focuses on trying to stack Bleed on opponents as quickly as possible, and while it bears some similarities to our Dryleaf Arts build, the Beast Claws see you playing a lot more aggressively.

If flailing around like Wolverine and breaking the Poise of your opponents consistently sounds up your alley, then the Beast Claws might be the best weapon for you. Without further ado, here’s our best Beast Claws build for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

The Beast Claws weapon is available from the very beginning of Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion - dropped by an NPC called Logur, Beast Claw - which is undeniably a Wolverine reference.

And, well, if you want to be built like Wolverine in Elden Ring, you can. There are a few ways to build around the Beast Claws, and the most appealing - personally - is by making them capable of inflicting even more Bleed. The weapon already comes with the ability to stack Bleed, but with a Blood infusion, it can cause almost double the blood loss build-up than before. This is what we’re going to play around.

Given the weapon is fast and allows you to hit multiple times in quick succession, the weapon gives us multiple opportunities to quickly stack Bleed on opponents. It’s also so aggressive that it keeps you on top of even the most agile of opponents, especially when using the default Weapon Skill, Savage Claw, and makes light work of bosses who are easy to Poise break. Seriously, take a look at 3:50 of this Beast Claws build from IGN (which has helped with this guide, thanks guys), where the weapon is capable of quickly taking down Malenia. Beast Claws are no joke. I also had a hell of a lot more luck using these on Radahn than old favourite Bleed weapons, such as Rivers of Blood or Bloodhound’s Fang.

It’s not going to be super effective against all bosses, though, so while I’ve detailed the best Beast Claws build below, I’ve also spent some time talking about secondary weapons to use when flailing around like Wolverine isn’t getting the job done.

Elden Ring Beast Claws Build: Stats and Class

Your class doesn’t matter when it comes to a Beast Claws build in Elden Ring, because by the time you’re using it and blasting your way through Shadow of the Erdtree, you should hopefully have another 100+ levels behind you. That said, the Vagabond can be a solid pick with its 15 Vigor, 14 Strength, and 13 Dexterity.

As for your Flask spread, we recommend experimenting with the build and seeing just how much FP you consume. In my experience, 11 Crimson Flasks and 4 Cerulean Flasks was just fine, but I did often have 1-2 Cerulean Flasks left over after most fights, so you might want to adjust this a tad depending on your playstyle.

Now, for your stat distribution, we recommend aiming for the following as you approach the late-game and DLC content:

• Vigor: 55+
• Mind: 30
• Endurance: 30
• Strength: 60
• Dexterity: 15
• Intelligence: 9
• Faith: 27
• Arcane: 45+

These stats, of course, aren’t final, and you can tweak them however you please to meet stat requirements for specific weapons or experiment with different scalings. I personally recommend having 60 Vigor to help you manage - and avoid - fatal attacks, but 55 Vigor can be fine. Just be sure to use a Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman or Crimson Seed Talisman if you find yourself against a particularly troublesome foe.

For Mind, we recommend having at least 30 to play around with. This way, you should only really need two or three Cerulean Flasks at most with this build. As for Endurance, we also recommend 30, but given the Beast Claws can consume a lot of stamina, you can have this stat even higher if you’ve the Rune Levels to spare.

With a Bleed infusion - which is what we’ll be applying to the Beast Claws - your two main stats to focus on are Strength and Arcane. Strength’s soft caps are 60/80, so we recommend trying to hit 60 Strength as soon as you can, and then turning your attention to Arcane.

Arcane has soft-caps of 25/45/60, so we recommend hitting 45 Arcane as soon as you can, and later leveling it to 60. Ultimately, while Beast Claws have a better scaling with Strength, our Bleed stacks are going to increase the more Arcane we have, and this build is all about building up Bleed.

Once you hit both 60 Strength and Arcane, and all of your other stats are in a good spot, we recommend putting spare Rune Levels into Arcane rather than Strength so that you can cause even more Bleed build-up.

Intelligence doesn’t matter for this build, though you might be wondering why we have a Faith requirement of 27. This is because we use the Golden Order Seal to apply attack and negation buffs where needed, and because a few of our recommended secondary weapons also happen to have Faith requirements. With the Two Fingers Heirloom, though, you’ll only need 22 Faith for this build.

For your Flask of Wondrous Physick, go with whatever you fancy. Though, I have been using the Strength Knot Crystal Tear as this can increase your Strength by 10 for a few minutes, making it good for builds-in-progress who haven’t quite met the Strength soft cap of 60 yet.

Elden Ring Beast Claws Build: Weapons

Our main weapon for this build is, of course, the Beast Claws. That said, you could always apply this build to the Red Bear Claws, which function similarly. Additionally, we definitely recommend equipping a secondary weapon if your equipment load allows for it, just in case you find yourself in a pinch and in need of some ranged damage.

While the Beast Claws are great, they rely on you keeping on top of your opponent. If you’re against a particularly awful enemy or are simply at those tense, final stages of a tough fight - the boss HP is low, as are your Flasks, and there’s no room for mistakes - you definitely want to consider a secondary weapon with ranged capabilities, just to be safe.

We’re a pretty big fan of the light greatsword, the Milady, with a Thunderbolt Ash of War for this - with a Heavy infusion, it also ends up having a B scaling with Strength! Though, you can consider any Strength or Bleed weapon that you’re a fan of to make the most of your Strength/Arcane stats; we just recommend choosing one with a ranged weapon Skill or one that can have a ranged Ash of War applied to it, such as Vacuum Slice or Beast’s Roar.

Other secondary weapons you can consider are the Blasphemous Blade, which has a ranged skill called Taker’s Flames. The good news with this is you can grab it from Rykard’s Remembrance and it has pretty low stat requirements of just 22 Strength, 15 Dex, and 21 Faith.

As for standard weapons that you can apply your own Ashes of War to, you could try out the Greatsword, Broadsword, or even the Giant-Crusher.

Elden Ring Beast Claws Build: Ashes of War

When it comes to the Beast Claws, you have a few different Ashes of War to consider. I recommend sticking with the default Skill, Savage Claws, or switching to the Raging Beast Ash of War.

Both Ashes of War see the player viciously attacking their target, but the latter - Raging Beast - allows you to choose which direction you lunge in upon use, meaning you can easily line it up as an enemy goes in for an attack, avoiding their attack and then performing your own in quick succession. While Savage Claws arguably stacks Bleed faster, I found myself to be quite the fan of the Raging Beast Ash of War.

When timed right, the lunge you make can see you dodging enemies' swipes and immediately going in for the attack as they recover. This then gives you ample opportunity to land a second attack if needed. It’s trickier to get the hang of than Savage Claws and requires that you really know an enemy's attacks, but it’s really fun to use. All in all, though, I’d stick with Savage Claws to maximise doing lots of Bleed damage very quickly.

Elden Ring Beast Claws Build: Talismans

The Talismans for a Beast Claws build can vary depending on how you play and what your weaknesses are, or even the boss you’re currently fighting, but there are a few stand-outs and must-haves that you should consider.

• Lord of Blood’s Exultation - a must-have for Bleed builds, as it raises attack power when blood loss is nearby.
• Rotten Winged Sword Insignia - greatly raises attack power with successive attacks. You can also use the Millicent’s Prosthesis here, but it does not raise your attack power as much.
• Two-Headed Turtle Talisman - speeds up stamina regeneration greatly.
• Shard of Alexander - if you use your Skill more often than your attacks, this is a must-have, as it increases the attack power of Skills by 15%.
• Claw Talisman - jumping attacks are something you should use with the Beast Claws, so equip this to enhance them.
• Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman - equip this for a massive Physical damage negation. A personal favourite! Though, you can swap this for others - Boltdrake, Spelldrake etc. - depending on who you’re facing.

The Lord of Blood’s Exultation, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, and Shard of Alexander are some of the best Talismans for this build. With all three equipped, you get an attack boost for using your Skill, attacking successfully, and whenever there is blood loss nearby. Pair this with the Two-Headed Turtle Talisman so you can quickly regenerate stamina and keep attacking, and you’ll shred through enemies.

That said, you can mix and match the above depending on how you play. For example, if you’ve plenty of Stamina, by all means swap the Two-Headed Turtle Talisman for the Claw Talisman to boost jump attacks, or for a more defensive Talisman.

Elden Ring Beast Claws Build: Incantations

I like to have a little extra attack power when it comes to boss fights, and this is where Incantations come in; these are by no means necessary, though. If you’ve enough Rune Levels in Elden Ring to spare a minimum of 22 to Faith (you need 22 Faith with the Two Fingers Heirloom, 27 without it), then it’d be a shame not to use the buffs at your disposal.

That said, this build is still perfectly viable without Faith or Incantations, so feel free to skip this section if they’re not for you.

The two main Incantations I use to buff before a fight are as follows:

• Golden Vow - increases attack power and defense for caster and nearby allies.
• Flame, Grant Me Strength - raises physical and fire-affinity attack power.

For your Incantations, I recommend equipping the Golden Order Seal as we use Golden Vow. This will do best in terms of buffing our damage output when compared to other Seals, such as the Finger Seal.

For example, during my Dryleaf Arts build, I tested varying Sacred Seals and my Weapon Skill on a Tree Sentinel. Using the Finger Seal and both Incantations, my attack did 2500-2600 damage. Using the Golden Order Seal instead, my attack did 3000+ damage.

Elden Ring Beast Claws Build: Armour and Gear

When it comes to armor for this Beast Claws build, it’s entirely up to you. Armor in Elden Ring has always been more of a fashion statement more than anything, as the buffs most notable pieces of armor provide are quite minimal. That said, here are a few suggestions.

• White Mask - The White Mask slightly raises attack power when Blood loss is nearby. This is a must-have for most Bleed builds, but you’re going to be doing so much damage with this build that you won’t miss it if you opt for something else.
• Fanged Imp Head - provides 2 Strength.
• Omenskirk Mask - provides 2 Strength.

I opted for the Divine Beast Head as it felt pretty apt for this beastly build. I then paired this with the Fell Omen Cloak and Radahn’s Greaves because the cloak looked pretty cool while lunging at opponents, but as I’ve said, what clothes you adorn your Tarnished with are up to you!

For more on Shadow of the Erdtree, take a look at our Perfumer build, where to get some Larval Tears to respec with int the Realm of Shadow, and where to find all the Smithscript weapons - these are pretty fun to use.